CATTLE, SHEEP, AND HORSES (Historic Information)

Cattle. While the government experimental stations at Sitka,
Kenai, Copper Center, Rampart, Tanana, and Fairbanks have been devoted
to the study of vegetable life, the station on Kodiak Island turned its
attention to the study of farming stock, particularly cattle and sheep,
to determine the types best suited to the climatic conditions, as a
source of beef as well as dairy products. That stock can be raised from
the Yukon Valley southward during the summer is well known to all old
Alaskans who have seen herds driven over the trails and roads leading
to the interior, living on the native fodder and reaching their
destination in good condition. Cows for dairy purposes are kept near
all the principal towns and at many of the road houses. The
experimental stations are not simply trying to prove this
fact—they are looking for stock which will require a minimum of
winter feeding, and in this they have succeeded to a marked degree; so
that we may look forward to herds ranging over the Alaska Peninsula and
its adjacent islands as well as over the plains of Montana. The winter
temperatures are infinitely less severe than on the high cattle ranges
of the Middle West, native grasses are abundant and nutritious, and
there seems no reason why Alaska in a few years 'shall not be able to
supply its own fresh meats. This whole region lies practically south of
the southern tip of Norway, yet dairying is one of the principal
industries of that country. The cattle in Norway, however, are said to
be of an inferior breed and the chief object of the experimental
stations has been to find better strains, and the adaptability of the
native grasses for winter feed, such as hay and ensilage. The latter is
an important item in regions where haymaking may be interfered with by
rain.

As Alaska grows, more cattle will be kept in the vicinity of the
towns, where barley, oats, and timothy will be grown for hay and
ensilage, supplemented by root crops, as in other countries.

A large part of the added cost of keep will be returned in the value of the
manure and the maintenance of the fertility of the soil. Unquestionably the silo
will be an essential feature in the equipment of every farmer in Alaska.

Greek Church at Sitka, Alaska

Sheep. The sheep on Kodiak and Raspberry Islands have also
done well, experience showing that the long-haired breeds are best
adapted to the moist coast climates, as the fleece sheds the rain more
rapidly than the thick, short wool of the others. On Raspberry Island
near Kodiak there is a band of 500 or more doing well.

Horses. Horses are in universal use in all parts of the
territory, both as draft and pack animals, their more extensive use
being limited chiefly by the absence of good roads.

Hyperborean Snowflake, Alaska

Where such exist they are used on the winter stage lines and may be
utilized in summer by the farmer when these routes are closed.
Abundance of hay and grain may be raised in
the interior for winter use. One hundred and seventy-five horses form
the equipment of the White Pass Route from Dawson to Whitehorse, and so
far as their ability to stand the climate is concerned, the only
difference' lies in the greater length of the winter months in the
North, involving more winter feeding; this again being offset by the
higher prices obtained for their labor.

The small, tough ponies so common in Norway have not yet been
introduced, although they fill so useful a place in that country and
ought to be easily acclimated.